Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is defending himself from criticism that ran in a front-page Washington Post story on Monday. The article says Grassley landed 94-million dollars in “pork barrel” tax breaks for the development of a vacant Sioux City hotel into low-income housing for senior citizens. Grassley says the 94-million is for all similar projects nationwide, not just The Warrior Hotel. He says many other provisions are included in the massive tax bill.Grassley says the Sioux City project will only use about one-point-seven million dollars of the 94-million. He says virtually every U-S senator took part in crafting the legislation. He says there are provisions in the bill that 98 senators, all but two, backed in one way or another. He says “It’s pretty hard to make a case that if you’re doing things that 98 senators wanted, that you’re doing something that is very selfish.”
